Emma finds out Henry is adopted, and Emma find something out about who Rafael really is and she confronts Regina fight.
Chapter Text
So this became Emma's routine. Giving Henry his karate lesson in the morning... and in the afternoon, telling her and August's secrets to his mother. And looking forward to telling them. Or more like looking forward to seeing her.
"It's as if August has some kind of a splinter…" Regina was almost speaking to herself as she paced her office " ..that he's neglected. It festers. It festers inside you until you… you get it out. You know what I mean?"
Emma is laying on Regina's sofa, watching her and just nodding when Regina asks her something.
"The stories you're telling me are helping him remember...and I'm very proud of the work we're doing. Do you know what I mean? Emma?"
No response from Emma. Just a nod as she stares at Regina in her perfectly tailored skirt suit. Regina had caught Emma staring at her… assets...more than a few times now.
"Time's up, Emma. Out." Regina smirks as she points to her office door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen for a drink in just a moment. I just need to make a call. My dad and Henry will probably still be watching TV if you want to join them.
Regina's office air conditioning had been fixed a couple of days ago, but they had decided to have Emma come to Regina's home office if she could only fit Emma in the evenings.
"Okay, thanks." Emma got up and exited the office, leaving Regina to make her call in peace. She found the two Henrys watching their nightly telenovela in the living room.
"Oooh, has she found her daughter yet?" Emma asked as she sat down in an armchair, making herself right at home.
"Sssshhhh!" Both Henrys said simultaneously as they kept their eyes on the screen.
Ten minutes later, Regina poked her head into the living room and beckoned Emma to the kitchen for their drink and to catch up with the Sidney situation. Emma had filled her in on what she had seen. Regina wasn't happy with Emma for risking herself but had appreciated the gesture. They each had a drink and then Emma left.
_
"Emma, are you trying to kill yourself?" Henry had asked her one morning after their lesson.
It wasn't a very strenuous one so they took a leisurely walk along Madison. Avenue. They were going to meet Regina's dad for lunch, but they were still waiting for him to text Emma about which cafe to meet them.
"It's a vape, Hen. I'm not quitting, You hear?"
"It's been proven they can also kill you."
"I'm not quitting." Emma was adamant.
"Then I'll smoke."
"No, you're not smoking. Your mom would kill me. You're not smoking."
"Then throw them out, Emma."
"All right. I will. When I get home."
"Now, Emma!"
"All right. All right! Jeez, kid. You really do take after your mother!" Emma chucked it in a bin on the sidewalk, grumbling.
"Thanks, I'll let her know you said that. She always says nature versus nurture. She sure nurtured me well, then, huh?"
"What do you mean, kid?"
"Oh, didn't mom tell you? I'm adopted."
Emma stopped walking, quite shocked at this revelation. "You're adopted?"
"Yeah. I was pretty angry at her and my dad when I found out. I thought they had been lying to me my whole life."
"Oh, when did they tell you? Just recently?"
"Oh, my mom's sort of friend - who is also her part-time receptionist - casually told me one day when I was eight. I was at my mom's office one day after school, and she said how lucky I was to be adopted by Regina. She must have thought I knew. I think the expression on my face must have told her that I didn't know. I burst into mom's office calling her a liar. She was in with a patient so that didn't go down well."
Just then, Emma's phone pinged. Henry had sent her the name of the restaurant and to meet him there at noon. Emma checked her watch. They had twenty minutes.
"Was that my grampa?"
"Yeah, we are meeting him at the Island restaurant. Hey, Do you know if it was a closed adoption?"
Emma realised they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk so she motioned for them to start walking towards the restaurant.
"I only know that my birth mom was a teenager who couldn't afford to keep me so she gave me my best chance."
Emma smiled at Henry. "You're a damn lucky kid, Hen. Regina loves you so much. And so does your Abuelo. "
"My dad doesn't," Henry looked at his shoes, sadly, as they walked.
"I'm sure-"
"No, he really doesn't. We've never been close. Even before I knew I was adopted. That's why I started playing the violin when I was five. I saw how much he loved playing it so I thought if I played, maybe it would be something we could bond over. In the beginning, he seemed quite happy about it, but now he hardly comes to any of my concerts. I think he doesn't love me because I'm not his biological son. But I know my mom loves me. Not just because she tells me every day," Henry chuckles. "Just in the way she shows me. She's never missed my concerts, and she doesn't even like classical music anymore. I think she used to, but I think she's gone off it? I'm not sure. But she still comes to see me play every time. And she tucks me in every night and reads to me when she can. And spends all her time with me when she's not working. And my Abuelo too." Henry was smiling.
"He sure does, Hen. And there he is."
Henry Sr was just at the entrance to the Island. He must have seen them walking towards him, so he waited and waved to them when Emma and Henry noticed him waiting for them.
"Hi Henry," Emma said as they reached him. Henry just hugged his grampa hello.
"Hello, Emma." He smiled back as he hugged his grandson. Once a released from the hug, he opened the door and let his grandson and Emma enter before him and then entered himself.
They were led to a table that had been reserved for them near the front windows. Once seated and their drink orders had been taken, Emma spoke up.
"Henry, the kid told me he's adopted. It just sort of came up. Anyway, Ummm… I was in the foster system for almost my whole life. I was found just hours old on the side of the road In Maine. During the winter. My birth mother only wrapped me in a blanket. Luckily I was found in time. Anyway. I was actually adopted by a couple, but when I was three years old, they discovered that they were expecting a baby of their own, so they sent me back." Emma managed to swallow back a lump in her throat. She noticed both Henrys' look of...not pity, but sadness. "I'm not telling you this because I want your pity. I just want the kid here to know how lucky he is to have Regina as his mom. And you, too, as his grampa."
"We are the lucky ones to have Henry here. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Emma.
"Yeah, thanks, Emma. No pity here. Just admiration."
"Thanks, kid," Emma chuckled. "Are you sure you're only ten? You sure speak well."
"Almost eleven! On the fifth of July!"
"Huh." Emma took that bit of information in her stride. Inside, though, she was panicking. It was just a coincidence that Henry and the boy she gave up for adoption share the same birthday. Should she say something to Regina? Would it make a difference? Regina was his mother. She wanted Regina to be his mother. If Henry was her biological son - and she had a strong suspicion that he was because now that she knew he was adopted, it was like looking at a little Neil with hazel eyes instead of Neil's blue - then she was so thrilled that Henry ended up with Regina.
They spent the rest of their time just chatting and eating the burgers they ordered, Henry Sr insisted on paying for Emma's meal at the end, Emma only finally relenting when she made Henry Sr promise that he would let her pay next time.
They then went their own ways, Henry, back home with his grampa and Emma back to her place. She was due to see Regina in a few hours so she wanted to have a shower and freshen up before she saw her again
On her way, she passed a nice looking book shop. She stopped to look at the window display when she suddenly paled. She noticed a book called "Southern Ways" and it was by none other than Rafael Halpern. but the cover on the book is what shocked her. It was an illustration of the foster home where she had first met August. She instantly went into the book store and bought a copy, then started reading it as soon as she stepped out of the shop.
"Shit! Shit!" To say that she was angry was putting it mildly. There in this illustrated so-called children's book were the most horrifying moments of her life displayed in illustrations and pretty words by Rafael. Who was this guy and what the hell did August tell him? She had a feeling Regina knew about this and she was going to get answers from her. First, she needed to get home to shower.
_
Emma didn't even bother knocking. She just barged through Regina's office door, her receptionist - a mousy looking woman - never stood a chance of stopping her.
Regina looked up from the notes she was writing at her desk, when her door flew open, and removed her spectacles.
"Who is Rafael Halpern, and what's he got to do with my brother?" Emma raged, waving the book she had just bought at Regina
"I'm sorry, Regina, I-"
"It's alright, Mary-Margaret. Please just close the door." Regina then looked at Emma. "Sit down and cool off," Regina said, calmly.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Emma carried on, still waving the book.
"It's difficult to conduct a session…"
"This is not a session! I'm asking you a question. You're doing a shitty job of evading it. Who wrote this?" Emma tossed the book at Regina angrily.
"What's so disturbing?" Regina lifted the book, quickly taking in the title and author.
"That's not the issue. Why didn't you tell me?"
"It wasn't my place to…"
"You're a piece of work, Mills! I tell you everything, and you withhold important information!"
"Maybe you're withholding."
"This is not about me!"
"Then why are you so upset?
"I don't like being lied to. I don't like secrets. I could report you. Have your license suspended." Emma was pacing like a wild animal, she just couldn't keep still.
"Stop acting like a petulant child," Regina said, rolling her eyes at Emma's threat.
"You haven't answered my question. Who wrote this book?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Regina still seemed calm.
"I will. August wrote it. It's all about our time with that goddamn foster family. If Lila read it, Jesus, she'd rip out August's pancreas with her teeth!"
"Why?" Regina finally stood up, put her hands on her desk and leant forward. "Why would she do that? What are you hiding, Miss Swan?"
"I don't answer any more questions till you answer mine."
"Then why don't you sit down and listen. That is if you're not too exhausted by your temper tantrum."
"Shit! Emma was looking in her pockets for her vape, but then remembered she had thrown it in the bin as per Henry's command. She saw Regina was still waiting for her to sit down, so she did so grumpily.
"When August first came to see me, he told me his name was Rafael Halpern."
"He's even crazier than I thought," Emma muttered.
"Shut up, or I won't continue," Regina responded coldly. "He said his father was a furrier and both parents were Holocaust survivors. Now, he couldn't fool me about being Jewish, but what fascinated me...was why he chose to be the child of survivors. What was he trying to survive? What is he trying to survive?
"How would I know? August was already fifteen when I met him."
"I think you do." Regina persisted.
"You're supposed to be answering my questions. Why'd he do it?
"Writing made him want to be someone else."
"That was okay with you?!"
"It was not okay." Regina said, exasperated. "I told August that unless he resolved his own problems, he wouldn't have a chance."
"Is that what people pay you to do? Turn them into someone else?"
"You're not listening!" Regina was getting frustrated.
"What do you think I'm doing here?"
"Complaining! Avoiding!"
"Fuck you, Mills!" Emma said, standing back up. "Fuck you, fuck Sigmund Freud and fuck Rafael Halpern. It makes me sick!"
"Your reaction makes me sick!" Regina shouted back.
"How do you expect me to react? What if I'd done the same to your… " damn, she didn't want to say son…" your dad?" Damn, Sorry Henry, she thought, silently.
"It's not the same thing!"
"I'll make him a Presbyterian...cowboy!"
"It's quite different. My father didn't try to kill himself."
"Give him time, Mills. Give him time!"
"You damn…" Regina was at a loss for words but then started to frantically look for something on her desk. She then clocked in on a huge hardback dictionary, picked it up and hurled it at Emma, hitting her square on the nose.
"Ouch! Shit!" Emma clutched her nose and stumbled back, landing in the armchair dramatically, her eyes had watered and blood was coming out her nose and through her fingers quite spectacularly.
"My God, I'll go get you some ice." Regina practically ran, in her four-inch heels, to the mini-fridge/freezer. She got out some ice, wrapped it in a hand towel and quickly walked to Emma, getting on her knees and removing Emma's hands so she could place the ice pack on her nose.
"I see a malpractice suit coming out of this, doctor."
"I am so embarrassed." Regina blushed as she held the ice pack to Emma's nose.
"What a day. I get dropped by a dictionary...and I find out my brother's become a Brooklyn Jew." Emma tried to move away from the ice pack, but Regina was stronger. It was damn sore. "I don't need that. I'd rather bleed to death."
"Just be quiet and take it," Regina commanded. "After you've stopped bleeding, I'll take you to dinner."
"No chilli today, Doc. This time it's gonna cost you. So. This is therapy, huh?"
"Yeah, " Regina said, "pretty bloody, isn't it?"
_
"I still can't believe I did that to you," Regina said, blushing.
They were seated at a table, in a fancy French restaurant, which Emma didn't think she would be let into. Regina had phoned ahead to reserve a table and on the way there, they stopped by Emma's apartment for a change of clothes. She had quite a bit of blood down her shirt from her nosebleed but decided on a complete wardrobe change when Regina told her they'd be going to a fancy restaurant. She opted for a flattering black leather dress. She wanted to impress Regina for a change. And she certainly did.
"Face it, Mills. I bring out the animal in you," Emma smirked, then became serious. "I owe you an apology, Regina."
"I accept," Regina said graciously as she took a sip of her champagne.
"That was a terrible thing to say," Emma said. feeling ashamed of her words.
"Yes."
"I know it. you for accepting."
Regina nodded just as the waiter approached their table.
"Would you like to order now?"
Regina looked to Emma who nodded.
"We would like to order now." She then looked back at Emma, "Do you want me to order for you? I eat here all the time."
"Go ahead. I'll do anything to make you happy tonight, Regina."
Regina just smiled then looked at the menu. "I think...we'll start with the artichaut garni de champignons au safran. And pour mademoiselle…" She looked at Emma for a moment then nodded, "La mousse de canard aux baies sauvages. And then we'll have the soupe De poisson au crabe. Delicious."
"And for your main course?" The waiter asked.
"Râble de lapin," Regina said, closing the menu and handing it to the waiter. "The rabbit is superb," she directed at Emma.
"God, there's nothing sexier than a beautiful woman...ordering food in French. Read me the whole menu."
"Are you flirting with me, Emma?"
"Yeah, I think I am. I'd like you to find me attractive, bloody nose and all."
"And I'd like to ask you about August."
"God! Don't you ever take a night off?"
"You said you'd do anything to make me happy. Just one thing," Regina pleaded.
"Fine," Emma sighed.
"August told me his children's book came out of a dream."
"More like a nightmare," Emma grumbled.
"Images in it terrorized him, but he didn't know why. Like the three stray dogs. What do you think it means?"
"Mills, you're incorrigible. We're at a wonderful restaurant...and you want me to interpret my brother's dreams? You wanna interpret dreams? Do mine. I had a great one about you last night."
"You had a dream about me?" Regina leant back in her chair, This, she had to hear.
"You wanna hear it?"
"I'm not sure." Yes!
"Don't worry. This one's G-rated," Emma winked at Regina.
"This one? Tell me…"
"There was a blinding snowstorm right here in New York City. I went out for a walk and I ran into you. We decided to go to the Rainbow Room. No one was there. So we started to slow dance. What do you think it means?"
"Hmmm. You said it was a snowstorm? Blinding snowstorm?"
Emma nodded.
"Maybe there's something you're afraid to see," Regina stated.
"Maybe I wanna get to know you better," Emma countered.
"Maybe you're trying to snow me," Regina threw back.
"Maybe I have cold feet," Emma smiled.
"Maybe you just miss winter," Regina finished off, also smiling.